Culture Society, Identity and Belonging
Israel was said to be dismayed when Britain’s future king said too many people had been killed in Gaza and that he wanted the fighting there to end as soon as possible. Even Nigel Farage complained of a "step too far". Prince William's grandmother would almost certainly have seen the Israel-Hamas war as too fraught and political to comment on publicly. By contrast the prince quoted Shakespeare, urging followers on X not to "succumb to the counsel of despair". The Israeli government said it was grateful William had urged Hamas to free its remaining 134 hostages (he hadn't), and reminded him that last year he'd condemned Hamas and re-emphasised Israel's right to exist. It's nearly two centuries since a British monarch has waded into national or international affairs with anything more than a bromide. The UK's chief rabbi and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign approved. Farage told the prince he should stick to presenting the Baftas.